There shouldn’t be many cases of rock drummers who are also bandoneon players. The question is what makes a musician of Charly García – that’s what basically defines Fernando Samalea- making music with that tango that breathes asthmatic like the literature of Juan José Saer.
vinyl out soon Instrumental 1999/2010, Of RGS extension MUSIC, a compilation of Samalea’s bandoneon albumsthings he was recording in Argentina, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, United States and Brazil.
The presentation of the album will take place on Saturday 13 May at 6pm at the RGS record store (Corrientes 5233). The cover – deluxe double cover! – contains illustrations of Renata Schussheim. Star shows? One by one: Tony LevinGustavo Cerati (with whom he played and recorded extensively and was part of his band on his last tour), Charlie GarciaNirankar Singh Khalsa, Migue Garcia, Fernando Kabusacki and others.
“I’m not that far ahead”
-Are you the first national rocker to release instrumental records and what’s more you’re on your tenth album?
-I’m not that advanced, huh. Maybe it’s just an insistent tweaking and tweaking. Not singing or having that profile, I settled on the bandoneon, mixing it with other styles. I turned it into the “voice” of my humble melodies, looking for each step to have a defined aesthetic, even with humor. The list of buts was long, even if I didn’t care.
-But…
-You probably know that many rockers love instruments and knew how to compose without lyrics, starting with García and (Luis Alberto) Spinetta. Andrés Calamaro has jewels like Welcome to the Hotel and Fito Páez has stood out on several occasions.
It would be enough to think of bands like the Crucis, of records from another galaxy like angelic pubis (Charly Garcia) or in Amenabar by Spinetta Giada. I couldn’t even compare myself to those Olympian artists or works, but when it came time to try, they gave me a huge push.
“I am the under of the under”
-Is there a market for your musical cravings?
-I am the under of the under e flirt with non-existent undergrounds even if you have several CDs and a vinyl in the trays. They won’t beat me if they are misunderstood! I want to materialize almost Dadaist albums in parallel to accompany that infinity of extraordinary artists you already know.
-Why are you a drummer and play the bandoneon?
-To move in both worlds: the primitive wild beat of the pounding drums and the melodic compositional beat of the bellows, which breathes, moans, dances like a caterpillar on your thighs, its keys make noise. The drums are the modern Technicolor drums I heard as a kid. On the other hand, the bandoneon would be the poetic black and white of the past that I knew from books, records or movies. Also, a wink to my native Buenos Aires.
A beatnik journey
Between 1999 and 2010, in a “wild foray”, he had the pleasure of publishing ten instrumental albums. Samalea completely crazy. Result? A “beatnik journey” through recording studios in Buenos Aires, Tangier, Milan, Paris, Madrid, New York and Rio de Janeiro.
“The bandoneon helped me by rallying musicians like the North American bassist Tony Levin, for example. I met him when Crimson King performed in 1994 in Argentina. After I managed to make myself invisible in one of the trials, I showed him the bandoneon. Instantly Tony raised his eyebrows and confessed that he is a fan of the film. Tangoby Carlo Sauro.
-You are one of Charly’s favorite musicians. How many times did he make you play the bandoneon in his songs about him?
-When I started studying the bandoneon with Carlos Lázzari, in 1989, the Artist suggested me to include it in I’m not a stranger. We immediately played the song in the Fitz Roy’s room, late into the night, and I tried to copy the original version as best I could. modern clicks. Bassist Fernando Lupano helped me find a “French arrangement”, as we used to joke. I was memorizing where to put my fingers and not play the next note.
– But what does Garcia think of that instrument?
-Charly loves the music of Buenos Aires, like a good bulwark on the corner of José María Moreno and Rivadavia, although perhaps not so much those experiments between tango and bowling. Once they asked him what he thought of electronic tango and he brilliantly replied: “It’s a tanguero in an electric chair!”.
It was amazing to open the bellows while Charly sang “and I feel a smoke like familiar…” looking at me with his dimpled smile. I’ll never forget it. I remember Andrés (Squid) with curly black hair, nodding amused to the side in a dim light.
There were just a few days left before the presentation of how to get girls at the Rex, so García made me debut big time. Very cool, during those 15 performances I jumped from the drum kit to the edge of the stage, grabbing the bellows off the floor and hitting it.
-What do you think Piazzolla would say if he listened to you?
– “What is this filth?”.
Source: Clarin
